Ubuntu Desktop Computing Made Easy (Saucy 13.10)

Download your desired flavor of Ubuntu 13.10, burn the .iso file to a blank disk and then install it on your trusty computer. Next, update the operating system. Search for Software & Updates and launch the app. Under the Other Software tab check the two boxes for Canonical partners and reload when prompted. Once the changes have been made launch the Software Updater and install all available updates. After rebooting, in Software & Updates under the Additional Drivers tab, enable the appropriate one(s) for your system (if desired).

Note: If you check the box to include 3rd party software during the installation this will give you most of the multimedia codecs you'll need (more are listed below). Some of the available drivers can produce undesired results when installing "Additional Drivers" (if in doubt ask or search on the forum). If you're installing Ubuntu within a virtual machine 3D Acceleration can cause application issues.

Thunderbird and SpamAssassin are a good combination for a basic email client (Ubuntu Gnome includes Evolution by default)sudo apt-get install thunderbird spamassassin xul-ext-calendar-timezones xul-ext-lightning

Note: If you're having problems getting virus definition updates edit (sudo gedit /etc/clamav/freshclam.conf) with a location near you http://www.clamav.net/mirrors.html (ex. add DatabaseMirror clamav.amerinoc.com after the last line).

ttf-mscorefonts-installer for popular fonts to be used with LibraOffice Writer (included with another well known editor)sudo apt-get install ttf-mscorefonts-installer

Note: Be sure to accept the eula agreement (this often shows up behind the active window when installing from the Ubuntu Software Center).

Setting Default Page Margins in LibreOffice Writer

Launch LiberOffice Writer and select Page from the Format menu. Click on the Page tab and adjust the margins as desired (another well known editor uses 1" as the standard), click Apply then OK. From the File Menu select Save As Template, click on My Templates followed by the Save button. Name the template (I use Default) and click OK. If the template doesn't display in My Templates select Refresh from the menu that looks like a gear at the right. Now double-click on My Templates, highlight the template you created and click the "Set as default" button at the top (the gear menu at the right will let you reset this if needed).

If Firefox windows open off screen or are too large to use, you may need to reset Firefox's controls and toolbars.

1. Close down Firefox completely: On the Firefox window, click the File menu then select Exit.
2. From a terminal window type: firefox -safe-mode
3. Firefox should start up with a Firefox Safe Mode dialog with options.
4. Check mark Reset toolbars and controls.
5. Click Make Changes and Restart to restart Firefox

Clean up your system and free up space with sudo apt-get clean and sudo apt-get autoremove

If you're curious (like me) or have the need to know uname -a && cat /etc/*release in a terminal window will tell you the kernel version and release date, the distro id/release/codename/description.

More to come...

Friends,

I'm more than willing to include your favorite applications (this is your post as much as mine). I do ask that you keep the description brief and on a general level with the degree of difficulty at a minimum (for new users) when making recommendations. I started posting "Ubuntu Desktop Computing Made Easy" a while back (mainly out of frustration) while trying to get my computer to perform as expected without hours of setup, search and configuration. The primary goal of this post is to make it "easy" for anyone to setup an Ubuntu Desktop Computer with everything they need or want within a short period of time ensuring the overall experience is an enjoyable one.

Note: This post can be found on Google by searching for Ubuntu Desktop Computing Made Easy. If you would like to link to this post or publish it elsewhere please give credit where credit is due.

Kind regards,

TrakerJon

Last edited by TrakerJon; May 2nd, 2014 at 05:47 PM.

The trouble with having an open mind is that people keep coming along and sticking things in it - Opus